With so many different social channels out there today, it’s difficult to determine where your company will fit best and which ones you should be using for your products and services. Once decided, it’s important to follow best practices to drive the most engagement through these channels and your business.

Developing a strategy and measurable goals is the best place to start. You may want to grow your customer base and build brand awareness. Or it could be that you simply want to interact and engage with your customers as another means of customer service. To ensure you are meeting your goals it’s important to track your social campaigns and analyse the results.

There are many benefits of using social channels for business. They help you build your community. They also help you establish loyalty, relationships and trust, as well as allowing you to interact with your customers in real time.

To help you get the most out of your social media channels, we’ve put together some tips and advice for using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Facebook

• Keep your content fresh and original posting at least once per day.
• Use images, graphics and links to articles where relevant, helping to increase your engagement.
• Use your logo as your profile picture.
• On your website, ensure to use a “Follow Us” button.
• Fill out every section on your page relevant to your business making sure your information is always up to date. Most importantly, your contact details.
• Craft a clear and concise description about what you do. For example:

“Punch Buggy Is A Full Service Agency Producing Effective Solutions For The Web, Engaging Mobile Apps & Strategic Digital Marketing”.

Image guidelines

Profile picture: 180px wide x 180px high
Cover photo: 828px wide x 315px high

LinkedIn

• Post relevant, professional content at least once per day.
• Use images, graphics and links to articles where relevant, helping to increase your engagement.
• Use your logo as your profile picture.
• Extend your presence and engage specific audiences by creating a showcase page.
• In your description field, list your most important keywords.
• Take advantage of the specialties field, including your top 10 to 15 SEO keywords.
• On your website, ensure to use a “Follow Us” button.
• Have your employees link their profiles back to the company page.

Image guidelines

Profile picture: 300px wide x 300px high
Banner: 646px wide x 220px high

Twitter

• Post more frequently on Twitter. A minimum of 2-3 posts per day.
• Use images and graphics to increase your interaction.
• Twitter allows for you to use 160 characters in your bio. So ensure this is useful, clear and well written.
• Accompany your posts with hashtags (using no more than two).
• Reply or retweet to posts and users where relevant. This will show your audience you care about what they have to say and want to engage with them.
• Use a twitter poll to help gather feedback and information from your customers.
• On your website, ensure to use a “Follow Us” button.
• Use your logo as your profile picture.

Image guidelines

Profile picture: 400px wide x 400px high
Cover photo: 1500px wide x 500px high

Google My Business

For information on your Google My Business profile – refer to our recent article on best practices for Google My Business.

So how is social media used in Australia?

Our graphic shows how we use social media in Australia and the times and places we find ourselves on these networks.

Picking the best social channel for your business is important. Define your target market and where you are going to find them. Using social tools are a great way to analyse the best times for your company to post.